Telling Lily
by iambookworm
Summary: The Marauders tell Lily about a... delicate subject, and her reaction is not at all what they expected! One-Shot.


**A/N: New one-shot guys! Check out my other stories (all L/J): What's Left of Me and For The First Time! Thanks! Also: ****Anyone have an account at figment .com? If not, make one! It's just a website to share your work, but it's one of the best out there. Anything from original work to FFs! Check me out on there: Kylie Wang. My other L/J FF is on there (For The First Time), and this one-shot. I've also just entered a piece for the Summer Reading Contest called Fireworks And Anti-Socialists, so if you do have or are making one, if you could read, comment, and/or "heart" it, it would really help! Thanks!**

**Hope you enjoy! R & R!**

**Telling Lily**

In one fluid motion, Sirius Black stands up from where he has been lounging by the fire in the Common Room, his gray eyes full of excitement and slight nervousness.

OoOoOo

With a slight sigh, a look of dread on his face, Remus Lupin rises to his feet, leaving his open Potions book behind him from where he has been studying a Blood Replenishing Potion.

OoOoOo

Stumbling, Peter Pettigrew clambers up from his seat at the table, tripping over his own feet as he hurries away, cheeks red with embarrassment and his round face flushed with anxiety.

OoOoOo

Stretching his arms above his head and yawning ever so slightly, the image of relaxation, James Potter stands up from his seat next to his girlfriend.

OoOoOo

Placing her delicate hand in James Potter's outstretched one, Lily Evans rises from her seat and follows James Potter out the Portrait Hole.

OoOoOo

"Where are we going?" Lily laughs, her eyes sparkling.

James grins down at her. "It's a secret," he says, waggling his eyebrows at her comically.

She laughs louder now, her light-hearted laughter sounding like clear bells tolling as it echoes up and down the corridor.

"All right then. _What_ are we doing?"

James looks at her, smiling that infuriating smile as he replies, "That's a secret too."

She rolls her eyes. "Is there _anything_ you can tell me about this little… excursion?" she asks.

James pretends to think about it. "Hm… Nope!"

He laughs as she rolls her eyes again and shoves him lightly. He doesn't even move, and he grins when she pouts.

"Why are you so heavy?" she whines.

James grins and laughs.

"Shut up," she mutters mutinously, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him.

He laughs again, even louder than before, and she turns away from him, sniffing haughtily.

"Aww, come on, Lily. Don't be like that."

"Hmph!" she sniffs.

"All right, you leave me no choice!" He grabs her, swings her up over his shoulder in a fireman-lift, and carries her down the hall as she shouts obscenities at him.

"Leave me alone you big bloody prat! Stop it, you arrogant toerag! Put me down this instant James Potter, or I swear to Merlin I will hex off your—"

At that point, James Potter pulls her down and kisses her. And whatever part of his anatomy Lily was going to hex off, we will never know, because instead of complaining more she responds enthusiastically.

He laughs against her lips. "Now Lily, we really do have to get going."

She is about to reply back when a voice drawls from the end of the hall, "You two lovebirds done yet?"

Sirius Black steps out of the shadows, grinning arrogantly at them. "Or do you need another minute?"

James opens his mouth to respond, but Sirius cuts him off. "Never mind, forget I asked. Of course you need another minute."

James nods in satisfaction, leaning down toward Lily again, but Sirius laughs and yells, "But I'm not going to give you one!"

With that, he grabs Lily's hand in his own and pulls her down the hallway, laughing manically. She laughs too at James' dumbfounded expression, and then as he flies down the corridor toward them, his expression so comically outraged that she has to stop and clutch at her side from laughing.

Sirius stops too, giggling gleefully as they both roll on the floor, James standing over them, his arms crossed, his expression stony. They finally manage to get a hold of themselves, gasping for breath, before turning to each other and breaking out into peals of laughter. James looks on stoically as they manage to gather themselves again.

"Are you quite done yet?"

Lily barely suppresses another laugh, smiling widely, refusing to look at Sirius because she knows they will both start laughing again, and replies, "Yup. Quite done."

James rolls his eyes and takes her hand, leading her down the corridor as Sirius follows behind, still grinning fiercely.

OoOoOo

Remus Lupin is nearly as nervous as the time he had to sit for two and a half hours during his Potions O.W.L. Practical.

He can't believe what they're about to do. Can't believe James has suckered him into this… again. James seems to get him to do many things he probably shouldn't be doing.

He sighs as he ducks into a secret passageway. What if Lily hates him? What if she is so repulsed by him that she doesn't want to be his friend anymore? He can understand though. He will leave her alone if she wants him too. But he really hopes she won't want him to.

He runs a hand through his hair, a habit he picked up from James, and sighs heavily again.

How will Lily react… when she knows he's a werewolf?

OoOoOo

Peter Pettigrew sweats as he hurries toward his destination. Is he supposed to take this turn, or the next?

He really can't remember why in the world he agreed to do this.

OoOoOo

"Here we are! The Room of Requirement."

Lily enters the room at James announcement. She has been here before, with James, but she is always awed when she comes here. Today the room has procured five cushy armchairs, a crackling fire, and a squishy rug that feels pleasant under her sore feet.

"So… tell me again why we're here?" she asks, turning to James. He's still at the door, watching her slightly nervously.

Sirius has bounded ahead and flopped into one of the chairs by the fire, somewhere on that fine line between excitement and anxiety.

"A few more moments, Lily-flower," James says, grinning at his use of her nickname.

Lily rolls her eyes but smiles as she goes to sit in one of the chairs. James joins her, and they wait for the last two members of their little gang to appear.

OoOoOo

Remus walks back and forth before the blank stretch of wall in front of him, asking of the Room what he needs. At last, a door materializes in front of him and he heaves it open and walks in, meeting the friendly looks of his two best mates and best… girl. That is to say, girl friend. Not girlfriend. Girl who is a friend. A girl friend. A friend girl. URGH.

For a moment, he is overcome by fear, and perhaps it shows on his face because the two other Marauders send him knowing, comforting looks, and Lily looks at him confusedly, smiling slightly at him.

He wonders idly if she'll still want to smile at him after the end of their conversation.

OoOoOo

Peter knew it was the next turn. Now he's going to be late. Damn.

He hurries forward, his feelings of apprehension growing with every footstep.

Really, why in the world did he ever agree to this?

At last he reaches the wall. He's never been good at this. Damn it. URGH.

_I need the place where James and Lily are. I need the place where James and Lily are. I need the place where James and Lily are._

To his surprise, the door appears on his first try, and as he walks through it, he is met by the uncomfortable, uneasy, and slightly queasy look of Remus Lupin; the easy, roguish grin of Sirius Black; the slightly nervous smile on James Potter's face; and the confused yet welcoming look of Lily Evans.

OoOoOo

"So now that we're all here…"

(Cue pointed looks to Peter. Slightly awkward moment as Peter shrinks in his seat…)

"Okay! Lily! Um… I—that is—we—have something—something to tell you," James stutters.

Lily raises a questioning eyebrow, bemused, but says nothing.

"Okay, well, first off… Well, maybe Remus should tell you this part…?" It's more of question than a statement, directed at Remus.

The werewolf nods, takes a deep breath, than says in a clear voice, "Lily. I'm a werewolf."

She raises her eyebrows, waits for a moment, then says, "_And_?"

Remus stares at her, shocked. "Lily. I. Am. A. _Werewolf._"

She frowns. "Yeah, I know. I think I got that. But what's the huge thing you guys are so worried about?"

Remus' mouth gapes open as he flounders like a fish out of water. "But—but—I—you… _What_?" he splutters.

Lily shrugs. "I knew you were a werewolf, Remus," she says gently. "I've known since Third Year." She shrugs. "But why should that matter? You're still the same person, as far as I'm concerned. And you really should close your mouth. You'll catch flies in it otherwise."

Remus' jaw snaps shut, his eyes still bugging out. "It—it—_it doesn't matter_?"

Lily offers him a half-shrug. "Should it?"

His mouth opens and closes, opens and closes. Sirius and James are smirking at him and Peter just looks at Lily in amazement. "Should it…" Remus echoes weakly.

"Lily!" He snaps out of his trance suddenly. "Lily, it makes all the difference in the world! Yes, it bloody well matters! I'm a bloody werewolf! I could seriously hurt you! I could kill you! I'm a _monster_!"

Lily frowns at him. "You're not a monster, Remus. And look at yourself! Are you a werewolf right now?"

"No, but—"

"And for how many days of a month are you one?"

"One, but—"

"And pray tell me, how many days out of a year are you one?"

"Twelve, but that's not—"

"Let's see… how many days in a year?"

"Three hundred sixty-five, but—"

"Exactly." She settles back as if the issue has been resolved. "Now! Do you guys actually have something to say that's not going to make Remus' eyes pop out of his head?"

Sirius and James laugh while Peter chuckles weakly. Remus still looks as if he's about to cart off Lily to St. Mungo's and have her checked in the Insanity Ward.

"Yeah, we do, actually," Sirius chortles. "Though it did make his eyes bug out when he figured it out though."

"Alright. Lay it on me."

James takes over for Sirius. He heaves a large breath than says quickly, "Lily, Sirius, Peter, and I are all Animagi. We do it for Remus, to protect him from himself when he transforms."

He stares anxiously at her. She looks at him oddly, an expression he can't discern, than at Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Can I see?" she asks. "Can I see you guys…?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course." James stands up with Peter and Sirius and they morph instantly into their Animagi bodies. Sirius turns into a humongous, black, shaggy dog that slightly resembles a bear with overlong hair; James smoothly transitions into a majestic, brown stag, his eyes still his own lovely hazel; and Peter shrinks into his small, twitchy rat form.

Remus still appears to be coping with the fact that Lily has not only known about his transformation, but has accepted it, and he misses this part.

For a moment, Lily stares at the three animals in front of her. The stag takes a cautious step forward, and then Lily does the one thing none of them expected her to do.

She bursts out laughing.

And not just laughing. No, it's on-the-floor-laughing-so-hard-you-can't-speak-with-a-red-face-tears-coming-out-of-your-eyes-your-ribs-hurting-from-the-force-of-your-laughter-and-looking-like-you've-just-seen-Severus-Snape-confronted-with-shampoo laughing. It's hysterical. Hilarious.

Or at least for Lily it is.

The other three boys have changed back into their human forms and are staring down at Lily with dagger-eyes. James glares at her mutinously, his arms folded over his chest, his eyes narrowed. Sirius and Peter copy his stance and expression, though Peter's lacks some of the impressiveness James and Sirius manage to radiate.

But at the sight of them Lily only laughs harder. She manages to gather herself, gasping for air, before she spots them again and erupts into peals of laughter again.

Several times this process happens before she finally manages to calm down after a good five minutes of laughing. Remus stares at her in amazement, half thrilled she has accepted him, half amused at her mirth.

She calms down and grins maniacally at the boys.

"Why, may I ask, were you laughing?" James asks rather coldly.

Lily snorts in a very un-ladylike way. "Sorry… It's just… A _stag_? _Really_? And you, Sirius… a _dog_? And Peter… a _rat_?

"You guys are like the poster-boys for Animagi! You're so stereotypical! It's hilarious!" She giggles again.

Remus starts laughing suddenly as the truth of her words hits him and pretty soon they're both on the floor laughing again. They recover together, leaning on each other, grins stretched across their faces.

"You know, she's right," Remus says, panting slightly. "You guys really are the perfect stereotype."

"Merlin!" Lily suddenly squeals. "That's—that's why you have those nicknames… oh, _Merlin_!" And she breaks out into fits of giggles again, Remus laughing along with her.

Interspersed in their laughter, Lily manages to choke out, "_Prongs_! The _antlers_! Oh, Merlin!"

Remus joins in with, "Wormtail… the—the tail! Padfoot… 'cause—'cause of his—his _feet_! Ha!"

Lily manages to choke out, "Maybe—maybe they should have called him—Haha—Smellyfoot!" They both crack up even more at Lily's joke.

James and Sirius glower impressively at them. Peter has sat down in a chair by now—all the glaring has tuckered him out.

"Glad to see we can be a nice source of amusement for you," Sirius sniffs.

"Yes," adds James. "I'm so happy we became Animagi just for _you_."

Remus sobers a bit at this, but still smiles as he says, "Aww, come on, guys. You know you want to laugh too."

"I suppose it _is_ a little funny," James concedes.

Sirius nods sullenly. "But that doesn't mean we have to like it!"

Lily has stopped laughing by now, and as she puffs air out of her mouth, she says abruptly, "Phew! Well now _that's_ over! Heh. We should get back to the Common Room. It's getting late."

And with the air of someone entirely able to control all her facilities—laughing and otherwise—she stands up and exits the room.

The Marauders all stare after her in amazement. "She really is something, Prongs," Sirius says, shaking his head in wonder.

James grins, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."


End file.
